Computing Through Time: Telemedicine

Abstract

In this cartoon, I created an analogy between using the earliest phone for medical purposes and using the internet for medicine. Telemedicine began when wired communication became available. It is believed that the earliest Telemedicine encounter can be attributed to Alexander Graham Bell. In 1876, he used his invention, a telephone, to call his assistant Mr. Watson to get help after spilling acid on his trousers. The exact origin of Telemedicine is not known, however, there has always been a need for remote care since antiquity. There is evidence that sharing medical information remotely existed through primitive forms of communication, even before Hippocrates.